by Daver, I'm very sorry
If I see a beer that has lactose in the ingredients, I have to try it. The beer's a little sweeter, a little smoother, rounding off the corners for a more enjoyable experience. I'm glad that so far I'm not lactose intolerant. Y'see, it's actually lactose sugar that is included in the brew. During fermentation, most sugars convert into alcohol, but lactose does not. If it's in there, it stays in there, and if someone's lactose intolerant then this would give them a bad time, no matter how responsibly you're drinking. When you're drinking a Coronado Brewing Company brew, you should enjoy it! And their Pineapple Farm Hazy IPA is a joy to imbibe.
The can label is informative, listing Simcoe, Azacca, and Amarillo hops as well as pineapple and lactose. Its blurb reads, "One thing is clear, this hazy IPA stands out from the crowd. Brewed with a blend of New World hops and fresh pineapple for a tropical twist, Pineapple Farm is a juicy, island vacation in a can." All things considered, it's also the closest I'll get to having an actual vacation. And I do love pineapple.
Once again, I'm tasting this from my only proper pint glass in the house, ye old Yazoo Brewing Company glass.
On first pour you get a cloudy, dark yellow body with a thick foamy head. The head thins out pretty quick, till only a thin gauzy film lays on top of the brew. There's also sediment, unfiltered Nordic yeast, that floats around the lower half of the glass and eventually settles at the bottom. The bouquet is a fruity sour, you can immediately tell there's pineapple. Its tang balances well with the mild bitterness of the hops of the IPA. The flavors are rich, perfumy, and creamier than your average hazy IPA. Thank you, lactose! It hardly feels like a beer with an IBU of 55. The lactose also helps to bring out the pineapple in the body. A little like yogurt with fruit at the bottom, actually. And if you let the beer warm up to room temperature in the glass, it becomes sweeter.
I'd almost say this is a winter beverage, more enjoyable warmed up than cold in the summer time. That's up to personal preference though, it's something to enjoy year round. It's rich, it's flavorful, and the ABV is slightly above average at 6.8%. The only thing that might put off the average beer drinker is the sediment, but if you swish the beer around a bit and chug it back, you don't even notice. Thankfully for me, it's one of Coronado's regulars and not a specialty batch, so they ship it all the time. I would keep a four pack of these pints in the fridge as often as possible.
